What was the name of the 1973–1974 global stock-market downturn?

The 1973–1974 global stock-market downturn was the 1973–1974 bear market.

The downturn followed the end of the postwar economic boom and coincided with high inflation, slowing growth, and energy shocks. The 1973 oil crisis began after Arab members of OPEC imposed an oil embargo on countries supporting Israel during the Yom Kippur War. Oil prices rose sharply, worsening inflation and recession fears.

In the United States, the Watergate scandal further damaged investor confidence. The S&P 500 fell heavily from its January 1973 peak to its October 1974 low, while markets in other countries also suffered deep losses.

The period is sometimes described as a crash, but “bear market” is the more precise broad label because the decline lasted many months and reflected a combination of economic, political, and energy-related pressures rather than one trading-day event.